The Mary Celeste: The Ghost Ship of the Atlantic

Disappearance — ABikram Mondal

A Brigantine Adrift

On December 4, 1872, Captain David Morehouse of the brigantine Dei Gratia spotted another ship. It was a brigantine, clearly, sailing erratically some 600 miles off the coast of Portugal, between the Azores and mainland Europe. As they drew closer, Morehouse and his crew grew uneasy. The sails were unfurled, some torn, and the ship seemed to be heading nowhere in particular. No distress signal flew. No one appeared on deck to acknowledge their presence. It was, in every sense, a ghost ship.

Morehouse dispatched his first mate, Oliver Deveau, and two other seamen to investigate. What they found remains one of history’s most enduring maritime mysteries. The ship was the Mary Celeste, a 103-foot brigantine that had departed New York City on November 7, bound for Genoa, Italy. Aboard were Captain Benjamin Briggs, his wife Sarah, their two-year-old daughter Sophia, and a crew of seven. All were gone.

The Scene on Board

Deveau's initial inspection revealed a ship that, despite its abandonment, was far from being a wreck. The Mary Celeste was seaworthy. There was water in the hold, about three-and-a-half feet, but this wasn't unusual for a ship of its age. The main hatch was securely battened down. The cargo, 1,701 barrels of denatured alcohol, was largely intact, though nine barrels in the hold were found empty. The ship's logbook, last updated on November 25, indicated their position to be about 100 miles west of the Azores. There was no sign of struggle, no blood, no obvious violence.

Personal belongings of the captain, his family, and the crew were still in their cabins. Clothes hung neatly. Sarah Briggs's harmonium sat untouched. A sewing machine and children's toys were present. Food stores were ample. The sextant and chronometer, vital navigational instruments, were missing, as was the ship's lifeboat. A single, dull cut mark was found on the ship's rail, which initially led some to speculate about an axe, though its true purpose remains unclear. The galley stove had been displaced, and the cook's fire was out, but there was no evidence of a recent meal.

The Official Inquiry

The Dei Gratia brought the Mary Celeste into Gibraltar. A vice-admiralty court salvage inquiry began on December 20, 1872, led by Attorney General Frederick Solly-Flood. Solly-Flood, it must be said, was immediately suspicious, convinced there had been foul play, perhaps a deliberate abandonment to defraud insurers, or even mutiny and murder. He meticulously examined the vessel, noting the cut on the rail, which he believed might have been made by an axe. He also observed stains on the captain's sword, which he submitted for analysis, though they were later determined to be rust.

Despite Solly-Flood's strong convictions, no concrete evidence of violence or mutiny ever surfaced. The court found no fault with the Dei Gratia crew. They received a salvage award, though it was significantly less than they had hoped for, reflecting the court's lingering unease about the incident. The inquiry ultimately concluded that the crew had left the ship in a hurry, for reasons unknown, and perished at sea.

Theories and Speculation

Over the past 150 years, numerous theories have been put forward to explain the disappearance of the Mary Celeste crew. Some are grounded in logic, others in the fantastical.

Piracy or Mutiny

Early theories often pointed to piracy or mutiny. However, the lack of valuables taken, the intact cargo, and the absence of any signs of struggle on board make these explanations unlikely. If pirates had boarded, they left behind much of value. If a mutiny occurred, where did the crew go, and why leave the ship perfectly salvageable?

Sea Monsters or Paranormal Activity

More imaginative accounts have suggested everything from giant squids to sea monsters, or even supernatural forces. While compelling in fiction (Arthur Conan Doyle's short story 'J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement' famously offered a fictionalised version of the events), there is no factual basis for these claims.

Natural Disaster or Collision

A sudden squall or rogue wave could have swept the crew overboard. However, the ship was found in relatively good condition, suggesting it weathered whatever weather it encountered. A collision with another vessel is also possible, but again, the minimal damage to the Mary Celeste makes this less probable.

The Fumes Hypothesis

One of the most compelling and scientifically supported theories involves the ship's cargo: raw alcohol. In 2006, German chemist Andrea Sella, working with a team at University College London, conducted experiments that shed new light on this possibility. Sella demonstrated how alcohol fumes, especially from the 1,701 barrels of industrial alcohol, could have built up in the hold. If these fumes escaped due to poor sealing or a shifting of the barrels, they could have caused a significant, though contained, explosion. This wouldn't be a fire, but a flash combustion, a sudden burst of flame and pressure that could have blown open a hatch and created a terrifying roar.

Such an event, even if not catastrophic to the ship itself, would have been deeply alarming. Captain Briggs, knowing his volatile cargo, might have ordered the ship's only lifeboat launched. The idea would be to stand off, wait for the air to clear, or for any perceived danger of further explosions to pass, while remaining tethered to the Mary Celeste. The missing sextant and chronometer suggest an intent to return and navigate the brigantine once the perceived threat was over. However, the rope connecting the lifeboat to the ship could have snapped, perhaps due to a sudden swell or bad weather. Once adrift in the vast Atlantic, a small lifeboat with nine people would have had little chance of survival.

The empty barrels in the hold support this theory. They might have been the source of the initial vapour leak, or they could have been emptied and refilled with water by the crew in an attempt to dilute the remaining alcohol and prevent further incidents, creating more fumes in the process.

The Enduring Mystery

The case of the Mary Celeste remains officially unsolved. No trace of Captain Briggs, his family, or his crew was ever found. The ship itself continued to sail under various owners for another 12 years before it was intentionally wrecked off the coast of Haiti in 1885 in an insurance fraud scheme. While the alcohol fume hypothesis offers a plausible, rational explanation for the abandonment, the precise sequence of events leading to the loss of all hands remains in the realm of conjecture. What truly unfolded on that November day in 1872, prompting a seasoned captain to abandon a seaworthy vessel, is a question that continues to echo across the North Atlantic.

Fact check. The finding of the Mary Celeste adrift and abandoned in 1872 is well-documented in historical records and court inquiries. The details of the ship's condition (seaworthy, cargo mostly intact, lifeboat missing, personal items present) are established facts. The theories regarding alcohol fumes and a feared explosion are modern scientific hypotheses, not confirmed events.

Sources and further reading

A factual retelling drawn from public reporting on a real case. Where a claim is unproven, it is flagged. Please verify with the linked sources.